Exciting Changes to Feast 2025

St Ives Feast is a celebration of the anniversary of the dedication of the parish church, St Ia, in 1434, and takes place on the first Monday after 3^rd February each year.  Steeped in tradition, the event has been enjoyed by the people of the town for generations. With new contributions from the community , 2025 promises to be more spectacular than ever!

For many years Bagas Porthia have provided a wonderful musical accompaniment for various civic parades and events in St Ives. This year it was announced that group leaders Dee & Dave Brotherton would be entrusting this important role to a newly formed processional band.

This new group will accompany Monday’s parade to Venton Ia (also known as St Ia’s Well) for the traditional Blessing of the Silver Ball. Then on to St Ia Church where the Mayor Cllr. Johnnie Wells will hurl the ball to the waiting crowd.  In addition to the familiar tune of Bodmin Riding, the group will also be playing “Up’long and Down’long” written by co-director Gavin Nicol. The group aims to involve previous musicians as well as encouraging new talent from across the community.

In an exciting addition to the usual programme, the pupils from St Ives infants will be joining children from St Uny to dance in the parade. Both schools are excited to be expanding the reach of the event. Headteacher Richard Wigham saying “It’s really important for the children to take part in the local tradition and support the St Ives community.” We look forward to seeing an even larger number of children taking part in an event that forms such an important part of the history of the town, and which remains a vivid memory for those who have taken part over the years.

Following a successful first year in 2024, the Scalybacks of Hakeybay will be returning to the streets of St Ives on the evening of Feast, continuing the ancient tradition of guising.

During the Middle Ages ‘Guise’ or ‘Geese’ dancing was a common activity in Southwest of Cornwall. Guising was particularly popular in St Ives in the 1800s but declined towards the end of the century. Cyril Noall makes references to the early days of guise dancing in The Book of St Ives (1977) ‘Young people would dress up in all manner of fancy costumes, and, with their faces covered, visit their friends- sometimes their enemies – in companies, and dance, and exchange pleasantries in a high falsetto voice, in order to escape recognition. They were usually entertained with a drink and some seasonal fare before proceeding to the next house where the performance was repeated. The streets wore a carnival aspect. The custom died out between the Wars, but was revived in the late 70’s as part of Feast Monday celebrations”

In 2023 The Scaleybacks of Hakeybay Guise Guild was formed by a group of St Ives friends, first attending Penzance Montol, then in 2024, Feast in St Ives. Made up of St Ives residents; those from the workforce, artists and musicians to town charities and those involved in community-based projects. Some of the current members even have ancestors that guised in the town in years gone by. The group will be assembling at 7:00pm at the Golden Lion, to parade through the streets singing and making music, to chase out Winter and awaken the Spring. More details can be found on their Facebook page Scaleybacks of Hakeybay.

Subsequent to the implementation of a road closure in 2024, the team from Gull Rock will again be in attendance on 10^th February to ensure the safety in those both participating in and observing the days events. Details of the closure can be found on The St Ives Town Council Website.

Main Image Credit: Alban Roinard